Persimmon Lemon Bars
Jennifer IserlohI was walking past my local fruit stand last week and spotted plump orange persimmons -- also called fruit of the gods. But what can you make with them?

Since I don't use persimmons very often, I decided to grab a few and see what summer treat I could come up with. Juicy tart lemons are a staple for me during the summer season and can be easily added to drinks, grilled seafood and everything in between.

As my neighbors had been asking me to bring those classic, tangy lemon bars to their weekend barbecue, I devised a fusion lemon bar that has the perkiness of lemon with the brilliant, creamy orange flesh of the persimmon.

When you pick your persimmons for this recipe, make sure they are perfectly ripe; give them a gentle squeeze to make sure they are soft to the touch, or let them ripen on your window sill for a few days. The unripe fruits have an astringent, almost stinging sensation on the tongue and might turn you off on this luscious fruit for good.

Persimmons make great desserts and also happen to be a mini-fountain of youth. They're an antioxidant-packed dream, contain Vitamins A and C, no fat and weigh in at only around 100 calories for a large fruit.


Get the Skinny Chef's Persimmon Lemon Bars recipe.